Search results

Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) are becoming increasingly popular as professional networking. These communities support and shape professional development, especially in countries with limited opportunities and constrain like time and distance. This study throws light on the role of VCoP and its impact on the continuous professional development (CPD) of librarians in Pakistan.

This study is carried out with qualitative research methods to understand effects of VCoP on CPD. With a thematic content analysis on the email conversations of a library and information science (LIS) Yahoo mailing group “plagpk”, the impact of virtual communities (VCs) on librarians' professional development in Pakistan over the past 20 years was analyzed.

This study demonstrates that VCs contribute to professional learning, problem-solving, knowledge creation, professional awareness and identity creation in the LIS field. Further, this study contributes a model to explain the formal and informal professional development for individuals and groups through VCoP engagement.

It is hoped that this study will help the librarian community create, get involved in the VCoP for personal, professional development consciously and create an impact in the profession. The finding of this study is generalizable to any social sciences or humanities professionals VCoPs.

This is one of the first studies in the LIS field to analysis the impact of VCs on the professional development of the librarians.

The objectives of the study were to identify the effects of blockchain technology (BT) on the university librarians, the impact of BT on the university library services and to reveal the challenges to adopt BT in the university libraries.

A systematic literature review was applied to address the objectives of the study. Around 25 studies published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct the study.

The findings of the study revealed that blockchain technology (BT) has positive effects on the university librarians as it assists them in digital resources management, provision of integrated library services, effective records management and continued professional development. The study also displayed that BT has a positive impact on the university libraries through effective information management, user privacy, collaboration, technological innovation and access control. Results also revealed that technical issues, financial constraints, security problems, skill issues and sociocultural issues created challenges to adopt BT in the university libraries.

The study has offered theoretical implications for future investigators through the provision of innovative literature on the prospectus and challenges associated with blockchain in the context of librarianship. The study has also provided practical implications for management bodies by offering recommendations for the successful adoption of blockchain in the university libraries. Additionally, a framework has been developed to adopt BT successfully in the university libraries for the delivery of smart library services to library patrons.

For the provision of smart library services to end users, tools of the Internet of Things (IoT) play a significant role. The study aims to discover the factors influencing the adoption of IoT in university libraries, investigate the impact of IoT on university library services and identify challenges to adopt IoT applications in university libraries.

A systematic literature review was carried out to address the objectives of the study. The 40 most relevant research papers published in the world’s leading digital databases were selected to conduct the study.

The findings illustrated that rapid growth in technology, perceived benefits, the networked world and the changing landscape of librarianship positively influenced the adoption of IoT in university libraries. The study also displayed that IoT supported library professionals to initiate smart library services, assisted in service efficiency, offered context-based library services, provided tracking facilities and delivered effective management of library systems. Results also revealed that a lack of technical infrastructure, security and privacy concerns, a lack of technological skills and unavailability of policy and strategic planning caused barriers to the successful adoption of IoT applications in university libraries.

The study has provided theoretical implications through a valuable addition to the current literature. It has also offered managerial implications for policymakers to construct productive policies for the implementation of IoT applications in university libraries for the attainment of fruitful outcomes. Finally, the study provides a baseline for understanding the adoption of IoT in academic libraries.

This paper aims to explore the determinants causing fake information proliferation on social media platforms and the challenges to control the diffusion of fake news phenomena.

The authors applied the systematic review methodology to conduct a synthetic analysis of 37 articles published in peer-reviewed journals retrieved from 13 scholarly databases.

The findings of the study displayed that dissatisfaction, behavior modifications, trending practices to viral fake stories, natural inclination toward negativity and political purposes were the key determinants that led individuals to believe in fake news shared on digital media. The study also identified challenges being faced by people to control the spread of fake news on social networking websites. Key challenges included individual autonomy, the fast-paced social media ecosystem, fake accounts on social media, cutting-edge technologies, disparities and lack of media literacy.

The study has theoretical contributions through valuable addition to the body of existing literature and practical implications for policymakers to construct such policies that might prove successful antidote to stop the fake news cancer spreading everywhere via digital media. The study has also offered a framework to stop the diffusion of fake news.

This study aims to identify the causes of mental health issues faced by university librarians, to investigate the impact of mental health issues on the job performance of university librarians, and to know about the health activities to maintain mental and physical health.

The systematic literature review was applied as the research methodology. Forty-three research papers published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct the study.

The findings of the study revealed that several factors including socio-economic conditions, work stress, stigma, constant fear, lack of self-efficacy, negative thinking, job security problems, strict organizational climate, poor human relations, lack of required job skills, chronic diseases and global pandemics cause mental problems in library professionals. Mental health issues have a negative impact on the job output of librarians. Different activities including emotional health training sessions, physical and mental exercises, social connections, membership of mental health centres, continuing professional development, and self-care training assist in the stability of the physical and mental fitness of librarians.

The study has a societal impact through the identification of different activities for maintaining mental health. It has offered theoretical implications for the investigators to further conduct studies in the area of mental health and librarians. It has also provided managerial implications for management bodies to take fruitful measures for the sound mental health of librarians so that they might carry out innovative library services.

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and fake news detection. It also intended to explore the negative effects of fake news on society and to find out trending techniques for fake news detection.

“Preferred Reporting Items for the Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” were applied as a research methodology for conducting the study. Twenty-five peer-reviewed, most relevant core studies were included to carry out a systematic literature review.

Findings illustrated that AI has a strong positive relationship with the detection of fake news. The study displayed that fake news caused emotional problems, threats to important institutions of the state and a bad impact on culture. Results of the study also revealed that big data analytics, fact-checking websites, automatic detection tools and digital literacy proved fruitful in identifying fake news.

The study offers theoretical implications for the researchers to further explore the area of AI in relation to fake news detection. It also provides managerial implications for educationists, IT experts and policymakers. This study is an important benchmark to control the generation and dissemination of fake news on social media platforms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceived supervisory support (PSS) and the impact of the antecedents of sharing knowledge, namely, clan culture (CC) as well as trust in innovative work behavior (IWB).

This research focuses on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees, especially SMEs located around tourist attractions in Indonesia. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The distribution of the questionnaire was carried out in two ways, namely, the offline and online systems via the Google form. Data analysis tool using structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that PSS, knowledge sharing (KS), CC as well as trust are positively related to IWB. In addition, it was also found that KS was proven to mediate CC relationships as well as the trust which had a positive relationship with IWB.

The research design uses cross-sectional data. This means that the measurement of variables is based on self-reports and is carried out at one time, which can lead to method bias that can affect the results of the study. Thus, further research is recommended to collect data longitudinally, which will make the findings stronger.

Theoretically, this study extends previous research by outlining a set of organizational elements that tend to influence KS behavior and their impact on IWB in the SMEs context.

Managers and owners of SMEs need to create a CC because the creation of a family or CC will more easily foster a culture of sharing knowledge within the organization, which will ultimately increase IWB.

This study emphasizes that it is not only internal factors within employees that can foster IWB but there are external factors that play an important role in increasing IWB, such as CC, PSS, trust and KS. And to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to include all the constructs in one model and the context of SMEs.

Purpose of This Chapter: This study examines the relationship of ambidextrous leadership with employee voice behaviour, underscoring the intervening role of employee thriving.

Design / Methodology / Approach: This study proposes a conceptual framework based on an extensive literature review using the conservation of resource theory, social exchange theory, and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

Findings: This study demonstrates that employee thriving act as an underlying mechanism explaining the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and employee voice behaviour.

Research Limitations: Being a conceptual study, the proposed framework lacks empirical validation.

Practical Implications: Organizations should focus on leaders with flexible behaviours who understand situational necessities to adopt diverse leadership styles and contribute to employee thriving.

Originality: This is one of the first studies to propose the role of ambidextrous leadership in impacting and enhancing change in employee voice through employee thriving at work. By introducing a framework that delves into the unexplored territory of ambidextrous leadership, acting as a catalyst for enhancing employee voice via the lens of employee thriving. This study provides a fresh perspective and adds value to the evolving conversations around employee voice behaviour.

This study aims to develop a framework that examines how different leadership styles influence talent management (TM) and how these leadership styles and TM influence firms’ sustainable performance considering the moderating role of environmental dynamism.

To achieve these objectives, an empirical survey was conducted among 480 participant firms in Greece. Hierarchical regression was performed to test the hypotheses.

This study reveals the significance of authoritative and transformational leadership on TM. The results also show the positive effect of talent development on sustainability. Moreover, entrepreneurial leadership is found to be the most influential style for economic sustainability, whereas transformational and transactional leaderships are the most influential leadership styles for social and environmental sustainability performance.

The data was collected at only one point in time, while sustainability is a continuous process. Moreover, only four leadership styles were addressed.

Proper leadership style should be selected to facilitate different sustainability dimensions. Talent development is a valuable investment toward sustainable performance of firms.

This study contributes to the upper echelon theory, identifying whether and how different leadership styles affect TM and sustainability. The study also advances the human recourse development literature by critically reviewing and identifying the influence of TM on firms’ sustainable performance. Moreover, the role of environmental dynamism is revealed on all the above relationships.

Applying servant leadership theory, this study aims to investigate whether servant leadership predicts service excellence of bank employees through mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap). It also tests buffering role of conscientiousness in boosting service excellence.

The study uses data collected from 224 bank employees. SPSS and jamovi statistics were used for data analysis.

Study findings suggest a significant relationship between servant leadership, service excellence and PsyCap. PsyCap emerged as a mediator, and conscientiousness moderated the nexus between servant leadership and service excellence.

Findings highlight important implications for organisational practitioners. Because servant leadership leads to service excellence, practitioners should consider adopting servant leadership at every organizational level. Further, servant leaders could enhance followers’ PsyCap for creating service excellence. Organisations should use customized training programs and development interventions to enhance service excellence.

This study is one of the few studies to investigate the mediating role of PsyCap as a personal resource and buffering role of conscientiousness for service sector employees. Study generates new insights on employee experiences working in service sectors.